Carer Wins £15,000 after being Injured at Work

Prior to the accident, the carer was moved from her normal duties in the residential section of the care home to the nursing area. This meant that she was now required to lift and move residents which she had not done before.

She informed her employers that whilst lifting residents she had begun to experience pains in her arm, shoulder and neck. She asked if she could be moved back to residential, but her request was denied.

On the day in question, the care worker was required to perform a bed bath on a resident at the care home. She and her colleague were assisting the resident to sit upright, holding her in a position to wash her back.

However, her colleague suddenly and without warning let go of the resident to rinse out the flannel cloth. At this point the resident fell backwards on the bed causing the carer to take the resident's weight on her arm. The resident weighed about 2 stones.

Injuries suffered at work

As a result, the carer suffered a frozen shoulder, trapped nerves and damaged muscles. Medical reports confirmed that she had an injury to her neck, right shoulder and right arm, with on-going symptoms. Also her left arm became affected as she was relying on it more.

The lady was unable to do any normal day to day duties without help from her family. She had to rely on her partner to assist her with dressing and taking a bath, which in turn has made her feel depressed. Because of the accident, she had to take time off work.

She had to attend physiotherapy sessions at hospitals, as well as the fracture and orthopaedic department.

Employer could have avoided injury at work

The lady contacted Simpson Millar to claim against her employers for the injury and loss that she had suffered.

We recognised that her employer had failed to provide adequate health and safety training which could have meant that such an accident was avoided. At no time was the carer provided with any manual handling training or any hoists to help with the lifting of residents.

The employer had also failed to make a suitable and sufficient assessment of risks to their staff or reduce their risk of injury. It also transpired that there was no formal report of the accident that the carer had suffered, which made the claim difficult.

However, Simpson Millar were able to help the lady successfully win £15,000 compensation for her accident at work.

To find out how we could help you please make a no-obligation enquiry or call freephone: 0808 129 3320.

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